Crunch Crunch Cereal

Mom and Dad

My mom was famous for creating precautions to protect us as children. When we were introduced to "big people" breakfast cereal, she took the precaution of crunching them up to make sure we didn't choke while eating.

Now, here I am, a 36 year old wife and mom who absolutely cannot eat my Frosted Flakes without crunching them up first. They simply do not taste the same. I've tried to psych myself out mentally. I've said to myself "Bridgett, you are a grown woman. Just pour the cereal, pour the milk, say the blessing and eat it!

Didn't work.

I tried switching to Grapenuts...I didn't like them. 

Me and Angela

My sister Angela admits to having this same problem. We both have to sneak and crunch when eating our cereal in public. There's nothing worse then having someone look at you with concern  and ask slowly "What you doing?"



Kayla and Bre

Needless to say when I started having children, I decided to use this same"precautionary" method. I got schooled quickly because our (then) two year old daughter MaKayla, wasn't having it. I remember her giving me the same "What are you doing?" look as I crunched her cereal and then saying in tears "You broke it!"

With a sigh of relief I didn't push the issue. After all, why should they inherit my cereal crunching complex?

That was ten plus years ago...

This morning while the kids were getting ready for school, I decided to put on a load of laundry when all of a sudden I heard the sound of dry cereal crunching in a bowl....it was MaKayla. She's caught my disease. I chuckled to myself. Then I heard God say "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he won't depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

In this instance, God reminded me that even though our children may not accept the lessons we try to teach them at first, if we hold true to what's right....without saying a word they will follow. 

Kayla Today

I asked MaKayla when did she start crunching her cereal. She shrugged her shoulders and said " I dunno but you are the one who got me started."

Our children watch us everyday. Not just in church. They pay close attention to how we handle our spouses, our jobs and life struggles.  As parents, we are our children's first and prime example. We see our children as angels when they are born but they still don't know God. They learn God through our standard of living.

They mimick what they see. If you cuss in one sentence and pray in the other. Your children will cuss in one sentence and pray in the other. If you tell them to leave them "lil boys" alone but you still sleeping with BobJohnDave&Rick; they are gonna find them a BobJohnDave&Rick.

There are a few exceptions to rule. There are some kids who decide early on they will NOT become a product of their environment. But this is rare. And yes, there are excellent teachers, youth ministers, mentors and counselors who are dedicated to helping our children. STILL, parents, learning starts with you. Give your children the best gift any parent can give. Give them a standard. Be their standard. If you don't have a standard, try God's standard. His word teaches us an abundance on how to live and parent. I promise you with his advice, you can't fail.